Evan Campbell: Taking Instinct into Account

The fundamentals of accounting are second nature to Evan Campbell. “I have always been fascinated with business concepts, even as a child,” he said. In middle school, while most students are focusing on learning fractions in math class, Campbell was working with ledgers and doing checks and balances. This business mindset stayed with him into adulthood, and he is now graduating from UW Tacoma this spring with his undergraduate degree in accounting from the Milgard School of Business.

Born on what is now Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Campbell’s family moved to Vacaville, Calif., near Travis Air Force Base where his father started working after retiring from active duty in the U.S. Air Force. It was in Vacaville that Campbell discovered his natural instincts for business and accounting. His fifth-grade teacher would give out “good behavior tickets” and those tickets could be used as a currency to buy small trinkets in class. “I would sell gum and stuff to students and collect tickets,” he said. “I even had a little ledger because I would charge kids to use my pencil sharpener. I didn’t even know what a ledger was yet, but this was a way for me to keep track of who owed me tickets and how many.”

Although his teacher wasn't too thrilled with his small business venture collecting behavior tickets, Campbell always kept his business mindset in his back pocket, selling items to his classmates and online on eBay. 

Campbell’s family moved back to the Pacific Northwest a few years later. After high school, Campbell took a gap year and attended Highline Community College. Feeling a bit lost trying to figure out what he wanted to study, he decided to take an introduction to accounting class. “It just made sense,” he said. “My instructor was really good and it just came easily to me.” While in accounting class, an academic advisor visited the classroom and sparked Campbell’s interest to begin thinking of his future. After hearing about UW Tacoma’s accessible location, friendly campus and affordability, he knew that was the right place for him to succeed.

Because he’d never been involved with any extracurricular activities in the past, Campbell made a promise to himself that he would make the most of his time at UW Tacoma and leaped at the opportunity to be involved with campus life. He worked in the Teaching & Learning Center tutoring business and accounting students and ran for senator representing the Milgard School of Business in the Associated Students of UW Tacoma (ASUWT). He served as the president of the Accounting Student Association (ASA), a registered student organization, and is a member of UW Tacoma’s Native and Indigenous student organization, Cedar Circle.

“My involvement in these clubs has allowed me to foster collaborations with other RSOs on campus,” he said. “By unifying our community, we can achieve even more significant impact and success.”

Campbell continues to serve the community while off-campus, too. He is a temporary bookkeeper for Look Listen and Learn, a King County based television show oriented towards BIPOC children and families. Over the summer he has an internship as an auditor with Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), one of the world’s “big four” accounting firms.

Campbell’s efforts ultimately led to his being named one of this year’s Husky 100, an honor that recognizes students across all three UW campuses who are making the most of their college experience. “Being named a Husky100 motivates me to continue being a role model for others and making a positive difference in the world,” he said. “It inspires me to continue striving for excellence in everything I do and to use my skills and knowledge to help others.”